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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Dark fantasy (also called horror fantasy or Gothic fantasy) is a fantasy subgenre that combines elements of fantasy with those of horror. Another definition of the genre is "a type of horror story in which humanity is threatened by forces beyond human understanding." The term was coined by Charles L. Grant in the 1970s.

Dark fantasy has yet to be solidly connected to its own particular subgenre of fantasy. Stories often described by some as dark fantasy may be placed by others in either the horror or fantasy genres, based on which genre the story tends more toward. As a natural consequence, the term itself may refer collectively to tales that would more properly belong in very different genres.